You might want to keep an eye on how many passengers ride with your teen in their vehicle. According to a recent study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, your teen’s risks for a car accident in Boca Raton and elsewhere increase significantly with every young passenger that’s in the vehicle.

The recent study, “Teen Driver Risk in Relation to Age and Number of Passengers,” concluded that teen’s risks increase with younger passengers present and decrease with older passengers present.

Our Boca Raton car accident attorneys understand that Florida’s graduated driver’s licensing (GDL) program doesn’t include any passenger restrictions for learning drivers. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), teenage drivers are allowed to pile in as many passengers as the vehicle will fit. This is why we’re urging parents to step in and to enact their own passenger rules within their household. Parents can help to significantly reduce the risks of auto accidents for their teens by keeping a close eye on their teen’s driving habits. Parental involvement is one of the most powerful tools in shaping these teens’ driving habits. Step up and help to create safe, lifelong driving skills.

The recent AAA study looked at the driving habits of 16- and 17-year-old drivers and concluded that when young passengers are present, their risks for an accident skyrocket.

Let’s break it down:

-Teen drivers’ risks for accidents shoot up more than 40 percent when there’s one passenger in the vehicle that is under the age of 21-years-old.

-Teen drivers’ risks for accidents double when there are two passengers in the vehicle that are under the age of 21-years-old.

-Teen drivers’ risks for accidents quadruple when there are more than two passengers in the vehicle that are under the age of 21-years-old.

It wasn’t all bad news though. When these young drivers were behind the wheel with a passenger that was over the age of 34-years-old their risks for accidents drop by more than 60 percent.

“These findings send a clear message to families that parents can make their teens safer,” says Peter Kissinger, President and CEO of AAA.

As we stroll through the month of May, teens will be let out of school and they’ll be hitting our roadways. During this time, parents are urged to keep an eye on their teen and their driving habits to help keep them safe on our roadways. Make sure you know where your teen is going, when they’ll be home and who they’ll be riding with. Your supervision can help to keep our young ones safe!